


Broken Together

by TheBeeThatHums



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abduction, Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Has PTSD, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Depression, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Maximoff Twin Feels, Mutant Reader, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Reader-Insert, SHIELD, Science Experiments, Self-Harm, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Torture, reader is a scientist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-03-10
Packaged: 2019-11-02 01:52:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17878847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBeeThatHums/pseuds/TheBeeThatHums





	1. Chapter 1

You looked at yourself in the mirror, dragging a hand over your face as if in an attempt to erase the exhaustion written all over it. It would be time to go soon. Stepping away, you tugged a long sleeve shirt over your head, letting the light fabric cover the methodically spaced needle track marks up both forearms. It had been a rough night in the lab and your handlers had left you alone when it became clear you had no further use for them for the day. After two years they trusted you were broken enough not to try anything and they were right… to a degree.

Strucker was a man obsessed but, as the man in charge, he was also spread unbelievably thin. A fact you were glad for as he had little time to oversee your practices and procedures. As long as he got results, how they came about mattered very little to him. You would take advantage of that for as long as you possibly could. You stretched your sore muscles and rubbed your temples to try and ease the tension building up there before gathering a few things: a lab coat for yourself, two new books you’d managed to procure, and an old digital stopwatch.

The door to your quarters slid open and you tensed. Seven A.M. on the dot. It was time to start another day. When you didn’t immediately respond, the agent in the doorway crossed his arms, brows raised as if to say ‘there are two ways to do this,’ and you quickly gathered your tablet and other research- you’d long since stopped fighting.

You followed the agent down the hall obediently, feeling the weight of emotional and physical exhaustion settling in on your shoulders. It was going to be another very long day but you were prepared. Nothing would go wrong. You had assured that in your late night tests and preparations. You slowly sucked the stale air deep into your lungs through your nose and then pushed it back out through your mouth, readying yourself with your mantra in your head- Endure.

In the beginning, you had refused daily. They would drag you out kicking and screaming, beat you within an inch of your life, and then return you to your room. You had been tossed on the floor every night in a crumpled heap but no matter the pain you convinced yourself you could withstand it. It was better than the alternative. That tactic had lasted a few months before they shifted to psychological torture. During those few brutal weeks, you still hadn’t wavered.

Every morning they had given you a choice: comply or suffer another day and again and again, you refused.

To you, the only options were: endure or die.

Originally, your captors had been perplexed when you hadn’t relented quickly. They underestimated your resolve. Why wouldn’t they? Before you had just been a scientist- soft and unfamiliar with the horrors they had subjected you to; blissfully privileged to a life without this level of fear or suffering.

In reality, they overestimated your will to live.

Depression had been a constant theme in your life in varying degrees and somehow, by some small miracle, it had allowed you to draw a line in the sand. Endure or die. You had repeated it to yourself over and over. Those were your options and in your mind either had been acceptable. The only fight in you then was the fight against what they wanted. That was all that mattered.

Or so you had thought.

The laboratory doors slid open for your bulky escort and he ushered you in, posting himself outside as the doors closed and locked with a finalizing click. You nodded a greeting to your two ‘assistants’ and slid into the chair at your workstation, glancing at the time. You still had a few minutes to before they arrived and you felt the doubts gathering low in your stomach. Every experiment day was the same. The doubts were impossible to completely shake and, somewhere deep in you, you knew the day that you could was the day they had truly broken your spirit. Today was not that day. You took another deep breath in and then slowly out, letting the memories wash over you to remind you why you were here.

They weren’t stupid. Once it became clear that you weren’t going to give in to their usual tactics, they regrouped. You hadn’t expected that. They wanted your mind. It limited their options- push too far and they may lose the brilliance that had drawn them to you in the first place. You knew this. It had spared you the fate of some the others they had taken through the years. You had been able to maintain the luxury of free thought. The last thing you expected was for them to find a way to use it against you.

That day they had come in and dragged you out as they usually did, but instead brought you to the viewing room of the lab. Strucker had brought in someone else. A researcher willing but lacking your insight and experience. You were forced to watch his misguided experiments on three separate test subjects and by the third, a boy who could not have been more than ten years old, you were openly weeping, pleading for them to stop.

The Baron had gripped your chin harshly, disdain in his voice as he seethed, “You caused this. You will watch.”

None of the three had survived more than a half hour. They left you alone with your thoughts for a full day after that- somehow they had gathered that your own mind would torture you more than they ever could. You had been so blind… so monumentally stupid. You had no control. It didn’t matter if you didn’t comply. The experiments would continue. They would find another scientist. The atrocities would still come to pass after you were gone.

When they came for you the next day, you went willingly.

In the time that had passed since then, your only goal was to complete what they asked of you with limited suffering and as much compassion as you could. When your first subject had lived past a week, the Baron had allowed you whatever you needed with only minor questioning.

The young agent who had volunteered to be your subject, Daniel, hadn’t much cared for your compassion or care.

He had only wanted power.

That hadn’t stopped you from administering substantial amounts of pain medication to ease his suffering when the experiment failed a month in. It hadn’t stopped you from holding his hand with a whispered prayer as the life slowly faded from his eyes. It hadn’t stopped you from mourning him that night in the solitude of your room with stifled sobs over how you had failed. It hadn’t stopped you from quietly craving his name into your wrist with a scalpel the next day to remind you of that.

You let out the breath you’d been holding when one of your handlers interrupted your thoughts to announce that breakfast had been brought. You didn’t know which. You never bothered to learn their names. They did as you asked for your work while supervising your progress for Strucker. You trusted them with nothing. Shaking off the memories as you stood, you silently took the tray with a fleeting glance at your wrist.

Three names.

Three failures.

You looked to the testing room as your current subjects were escorted in and determinedly worked your jaw- their names would not be joining that list.

Wanda looked up when you came in the with tray, a faint smile gracing her face as Pietro offered a grin, “Morning, Doc.”

You set the tray in the middle of the table and took your usual cup of coffee from it, forcing a small smile, “Good morning, Pietro… Wanda. Did you both sleep well?”

Nodding, Pietro dug into the breakfast as soon as you set it down and Wanda took just piece of toast, watching you closely. Things had gotten easier over the past few months since her new abilities had started to become more developed. They trusted you now that she could see your care was genuine.

She sat back with her toast, nibbling at it as Pietro told you about some nonsensical dream he’d had and you jotted down notes on a pad in front of you, your eyes lighting up in a way they rarely did anymore. This was the time she’d come to treasure. Even with the overall circumstance seeming bleak, at least you all could find comfort in small moments like these. Since they had been tricked into volunteering by Dr. List, these peaceful and normal moments came few and far in between. She appreciated the effort you put into making them happen as often as you could.

You slid the stopwatch across the table to Pietro when he came to a stopping point, “I know it’s nothing fancy but…”

He had already snatched it before you could finish, chattering away happily in Sokovian at a speed that you couldn’t easily make out what he was saying before he disappeared from his chair to test it out.

Letting him with a soft chuckle, you turned your gaze to Wanda as you slid the two paperbacks toward her, “And these are for you. One in English and one in Sokovian. I can’t guarantee they’ll be a good read but it’s something at least.”

She tilted her head at you ever so slightly with a light smile, “Thank you.”

“Did you sleep well?”

“I did… I suspect we will need it for whatever we are doing today?”

Your eyes met hers, “Always better to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best.”


	2. Chapter 2

Wanda could feel the desperate hope coming off you in waves as it always did when they came in for more tests. Things had changed so much. She had hated you so fully when they had first begun, how could she not? It had seemed to her that with one hand you offered false comfort while the other caused their suffering. That was before. Before they had come in for additional tests one day and she had heard the whispers of your mind.

They were the first thoughts she’d been able to read, the first manifestations of her abilities, and in those whispers, she had heard your prayers. Prayers for this to end. Prayers for a window of opportunity. Prayers they would be your last subjects. Prayers you wouldn’t fail them. Prayers that you could endure as long as they needed you to.

From that moment on she understood- you were a prisoner with them and your sole hope was they would become powerful enough to end all of this. She could feel you were broken on the inside, barely holding it together, but she didn’t pry further. All you could do for now was help them grow stronger and offer a sense of normalcy when they were allowed to see you.

By the time she had brushed off your feelings, Pietro had already taken back your attention, stealing your coffee from your hand and downing it in the time it took you to blink.

“Pietro! The last thing you need is caffeine!” you tried to scold but the grin on your face told him it was half-hearted and he just winked, “Didn’t even see me coming, did ya, Doc?”

You laughed, “You get faster every day. Soon I won’t even be able to get a sip before you’ve stolen it away.”

A red glow enveloped the cup, pulling it from his hands as Wanda raised a brow and chided, “Show off.”

The silver-haired boy just shrugged, snatching it out of the air as you turned your attention to her, “I see you’ve been practicing as well. Any progress in regards to control?”

The mug snapped into her waiting hand as if that was its sole purpose and she gave you a small grin, “You tell me.”

“Very good,” you praised, “And the headaches?”

“Virtually nonexistent.”

“Even better.”

Pietro stretched, leaning back in his chair so it was balanced only on the back legs with one foot on the edge of the table, “What’s the plan for today then? Do I get to break another treadmill?”

Wanda rolled her eyes, flicking her hand so the chair tipped past the point of no return, “You enjoy that too much.”

Logically, you knew the fall happened but Pietro was back in his chair before it could even hit the ground. You shook your head with a soft sigh, “No treadmill today, unfortunately. It’s time for another round of enhancement.”

Pietro groaned and Wanda shivered, you were always open with them about what was being done and what could happen but it didn’t change that the experience was harrowing. Enhancement days were the worst. You got up to show them your calculations and some diagrams at your workstation in the room as your assistants stepped in to prepare. You stopped them in the doorway with a sharp glare, “I told you, as I tell you every time, I will do it myself.”

The two stepped out with narrowed eyes, they had orders to try every time in hopes you would share more of the process and thought behind it and every time you turned them away. Wanda watched you let out a huff and curse under your breath as you typed up some parameters. She was glad you didn’t allow them to help despite the toll she knew it took on you. They looked at her and Pietro with the ravenous hunger of someone who wanted the power they now had and, if they couldn’t have it themselves, a need to control it.

All three of you jumped when a blaring siren sound filled the room accompanied by a light on the wall flashing an ominous red. A prickling chill ran through you starting in your chest and working all the way out to your extremities as your breath caught in your throat- this was it.

Through the viewing window, you could see, as if in slow motion the agent at the lab door coming in and shouting orders to your assistants while he waved around his gun. You took in a deeper breath after what seemed like an eternity and everything snapped back to horribly fast, your ears ringing with the screech of the alarm and the sound of gunfire from somewhere else in the facility. You grabbed the chair you’d been sitting in and shoved it up under the handle of the door to the lab proper to block anyone else from getting in.

Both Wanda and Pietro were calling out to you, you knew they were, but time was short. Your hands shook lightly as you rapidly mashed your fingers into the computers keys, pulling up the program you’d hidden in your research with a few clumsy keystrokes. As soon as you activated it all hell broke loose- cameras went down, coms failed, cells opened, locks failed, lights went out. Two years in this hole of a place didn’t seem wasted now. You grabbed your research tablet and shoved it into Wanda’s hands, forcing her fingers closed around it before throwing open the usually locked door opposite the one you had blocked. The chair was starting to creak with the efforts of those trying to get in and you knew it wouldn’t hold much longer. Your eyes met hers for only a fleeting moment before locking on Pietro’s with a single word, “Run.”

There was no time to argue. The chair gave way as you said it, your handlers bursting through with guns raised, and you put yourself between them and the twins. In a blink, pale blue discs enveloped your hands to block them from coming any further as you hissed, “Pietro! Now!”

You felt the rush of air signifying they’d gone and hoped desperately that it would be enough. You focused only on holding your position there, everything a blur of noise, bullets, and soft blue light as you let your body take the lead. Time seemed to pass slowly but you knew it was only your mind lacking the capacity to keep up with the moment or fully grasp what was happening. You were aware of more people arriving, glass being broken, and the siren still wailing but your sole focus was making sure none of them got past you.

A final stand.

You hadn’t expected to be hit from behind, a searing pain cutting through your left side before something hard came down on your head and darkness took over.

The next thing you were aware of was faint voices, rushed and distant, along with some beeping. They seemed to be very concerned about something. You caught words here and there…. ‘blood loss’…. ‘Critical’… ‘coding.’ You wished they would go away and leave you be in the quiet and after a moment you got your wish, the words slowing and fading to whispers before there was nothing again.

Much too soon for your liking, the noise started up again, a high pitch ringing disturbing your darkness, and you begrudgingly started to gather your wits. You were convinced after a moment you were dead. It was the only logical conclusion. The voices started up again, just whispers to start, and you strained to hear what they were saying. The harder you focused the clearer they became, interrupted only by the ringing which slowly morphed into a steady beeping. Okay… maybe not dead.

“Dr. (F/n) (L/n). S.H.I.E.L.D scientist before the fall. Presumed dead. Specialist in genetics and biochem, well versed in emergency medicine. She was working closely with Dr. List before her disappearance.”

You recognized that voice. It had been so long but the familiarity still tugged at your mind, making you focus harder. A wave of pain hit you as you could suddenly feel your body, brow furrowing a little as the voices continued.

A different one responded to the first, deeper and more firm, “How can we be sure she wasn’t part of the Hydra cell?”

The familiar voice answered, “We can’t. Not until she wakes. There are too many unknowns.”

You placed the voice suddenly, taking in a fuller breath causing the machines to beep a bit more rapidly before you released it in a hoarse whisper, “Hill.”

Maria jumped a little, looking over just as you forced your eyes open and squinted against the bright overhead lights. You repeated yourself a bit louder, “Hill… Maria Hill.”

After a moment, your eyes found her, trying to turn to look at her fully but a sharp stabbing pain in your head stopped you. You scrunched your eyes shut, “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Commander.”

You could hear her telling her companion to get a doctor before her voice came again, much closer, “How are you feeling, Doctor?”

You shifted a little to take stock of your pain, compared to all that you’d been through it was actually… bearable. After a moment, you hummed out an answer, “Sore. Not new. Head hurts. Little hard to breathe in deeply… but nothing broken. All in all not bad.”

“You almost died,” she responded, tone unamused with a slight hint of scolding, and you smiled- that was the tone you always remembered from her. You opened your eyes again and she had an eyebrow raised at you questioningly. You cracked a wider grin at the look, “I could listen to you scold all day. You know that? God… tell me I was reckless. Ask me what I was thinking. Please. I won’t even argue.”

Your friend sighed and you felt her hand on yours, squeezing lightly, “We have a lot of questions, (F/n)… but it’s good to see you. Really good.”

Shifting a little to sit up cross-legged, you shook off the pain as you had so many times over the past two years, offering her a tight smile, “I’ll answer as many as I can.”


	3. Chapter 3

Before Maria could get into it, the owner of the deeper voice returned with a woman in a lab coat who pursed her lips at you, “You shouldn’t be up.”

You shrugged a little, rolling your shoulders as you eyed the blonde that had retrieved her while she looked you over. He caught you staring but you didn’t look away, maintaining eye contact as you sized him up like you come to do with most people you met. He looked tense, you assumed he probably still hadn’t had time to fully debrief after the whole mess at the base, and you offered a small smile, “I’m a fan of the new scruff, Captain. Suits y- ah!”

Unwittingly breaking eye contact as the doctor gripped your forearm a bit too tightly, you quickly snatched it away from her grasp, “Don’t.”

She had already seen the needle marks and bruises that went with them up your arm, narrowing her eyes as she asked in an even tone, “Track marks… do I need to worry about withdrawals?”

“A Hydra scientist shooting her own medicine. That explains some things,” Steve rumbled as he crossed his arms and you shot him a glare that could kill, “Excuse me?”

He shrugged, “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

Maria cleared her throat, trying to cut through the tension, “(F/n)… we don’t know what to think…”

You could feel yourself already shutting down- of course, this was too good to be true. You had just traded one bad situation for another. You hugged yourself a little, staring at the blankets, “No withdrawals. Not drugs… I can assure you of that.”

The doctor nodded, “Any pain?”

“Nothing I can’t handle,” you hummed softly, from your tone it was clear you wanted her to leave, and her eyes flicked to Maria for approval. She nodded once and the doctor left. Once she was gone, Maria pulled up a chair next to you, “What happened to List?”

“He’s dead. A year ago at least. Strucker didn’t see any need for him when I started cooperating and he found out List was passing my research off as his own… that and once you play for both sides who knows where your loyalties lie. He said he was a liability.”

She nodded, recording it on her tablet, “How long were you there? How did you end up there?”

“I… I’m a bit fuzzy on the how. I was working with List in our lab on base, we touched on something brilliant, and then… it’s a blank. The next thing I remember is my cell at the facility,” you admitted, rubbing your temple lightly.

“That as over two years ago,” Maria noted, “Could you give a timeline?”

“Sure… I think I lost a few days in the beginning… after that…,” you shifted uncomfortably, thinking about how days had seemed to run together when they had been trying to get you to cooperate. 

Shaking your head, you took a slow breath in and then out, ‘Endure’ mantra ringing through your head before you continued, “It’s hard to say. If I had to estimate… four to five months of the cell… one or two months i-in a d-different room… then a year and a half working.”

“Different room?” Steve pressed, still not convinced.

You took a few slow breaths, in and out, and Maria reached for your hand only to have you snatch it away, “I’m fine. It was hard to tell if it was one room or a couple. The main one was… no windows. Completely dark.”

Maria hummed, frowning as she made a note of it, “Sensory deprivation?” 

You nodded a little, trying not to think about it, “Once I had access to the lab it was easier to keep track.”

“What about your research?”

Just wanting to get it over with, you shrugged, “Safe. Only one copy on a tablet with someone I trust, heavily encrypted. Five test subjects. Daniel Fredriske. Deceased. Gemma Stall. Deceased. Klaus Stansi. Deceased. Wanda and Pietro Maximoff… Unknown.”

Steve tensed, “Unknown? As in still under Hydra control?”

“I sure as fuck hope not, Sir. I bought them as much time as I could but I don’t know what happened after they left the testing room,” you answered, rubbing your hands down your face.

Maria hesitated, “About that…”

You tensed a little, knowing exactly what she was referring to, “My mistake… Six test subjects if you include me. Pyrokinesis and energy manipulation… I think. I’m not sure the specifics or extent. That was the first time I’ve attempted to use them.”

Maria wrote it down and Steve watched you carefully, voice coming out less hostile now, “You experimented on yourself?”

“Not for the reasons you think. After Klaus… I couldn’t lose the twins. I ran everything I intended to do to them on myself first. To be sure. It wasn’t a perfect system. Everyone reacts differently. But it was the only failsafe I could provide,” you shrugged, smoothing the blanket tensely as a long silence enveloped the room. 

Maria was about to continue when a voice abruptly erupted from the ceiling, connection a bit rough, “Hey Capsicle… we’ve got a bit of a problem.”

“Kinda busy here, Stark,” Steve huffed, looking up at the ceiling.

Tony’s voice came through a little garbled this time, “With Baby Blue. Yeah. Gotcha. Strucker escaped after wiping the data banks.”

“So go after him.”

“See that’s the problem. We’re pinned down. Something like the Tasmanian devil mixed with red lightning.”

Your eyes snapped up, already trying to get out of the bed, “That’s the twins. Stark, don’t engage!”

“Excuse me, Miss, but I give the orders here,” Steve said firmly but you ignored him.

“DON’T ENGAGE!” you ripped the IV out of your arm, Maria trying to stop you as Steve tensed to block the door.

“Is that the Blue Fairy?”

Steve went to respond and you grabbed his arm with a hiss, “You don’t understand. They will end him. Please. Tell him to stand down.”

Something in your voice and the look in your eyes when they locked with his made him nod, “Stand down until we know more, Tony.”

You visibly relaxed before gripping his arm a little bit tighter, the pain in your side making your knees weak. The blonde steadied you gently, “I’m going to need an explanation, Dr. (L/n).”

“R-Right… sorry. Just not looking to have anyone else die on my watch. The twins… they hate Stark. It’s complicated. Somebody else needs to engage. Basically anyone else. Mr. Stark needs to keep as much distance as he can. Wanda should be able to tell they mean no harm… If she’s stable…”

It was quiet for a moment and then Natasha’s voice came across the com clearly, “Stark’s backed off and gone radio silent. Any advice on how to bring them in peacefully?”

You wracked your brain for a minute. You hadn’t even thought about this situation, having always assumed that if the opportunity did come up to get them out… you wouldn’t survive it. After a moment, you went red and cursed under your breath, “You have to tell them…. Tell… them…”

Steve looked down at you expectantly, “What, Doctor?”

You sighed, covering your face with your free hand in embarrassment, “Tell them ‘The moons are rising over Uranus.’ ”

There was a brief moment of silence and then some distant laughter through the com before Natasha responded, “You can’t be serious.”

“I didn’t pick it!” you hissed, letting out an exasperated huff as you aggressively avoided Steve’s gaze. The room went quiet for another long moment before Natasha announced, “They’re coming in willingly. Avenger team headed back to base.”

You breathed out the air you had been holding in, “Thank god he remembered.”

“What does that even mean?” Steve mumbled and Natasha sighed, “Barton says he’ll explain it to you when we get there.”

He nodded, looking up again, “We’ll see you back here then. Over and out.”


	4. Chapter 4

Once you were seated, Maria quickly excused herself to complete some other tasks, leaving you with Steve for supervision. You clammed up pretty quickly, not necessarily on the defensive but clearly uncomfortable, and after a few minutes of silence, he ran his hand through his hair with a sigh, “Look… I’m sorry for what I said earlier.”

“I know.”

“You gotta understand where I’m coming from…”

You nodded, fingers absentmindedly tracing the names scarred on your wrist, “I do.”

The silence stretched on again and he pulled up a chair to sit across from you, trying to get you to relax a little. You looked at him after a moment, “I’m sorry. I know you’re just doing your due diligence. I’m just…so tired…”

He leaned forward, “Of?”

“Enduring.”

He nodded, waiting for you to go on, and you closed your eyes for a moment, “I didn’t sign up for this, Captain. I just… I wanted to help people. S.H.I.E.L.D had been scouting me for a while and after New York, it seemed like my best opportunity to be put where I could help most… I’m not a fighter. I’m a scientist. I’m a doctor. I’m not even sure I want to be that anymore… I just…”

“Just what?”

“I just want to sleep. One full night. No dreams. Safe. Peaceful.”

What you said resonated with Steve, having heard similar things from Bucky when he’d come into the team, and he let the silence between you hang for a moment while you each gathered your thoughts. In the hallway, Bucky had paused to listen, he’d been looking for Steve and stopped short of entering when he’d heard you talking. When you opened your eyes, Steve was searching your face, eyes locking with yours instantly, “You’re with us now. Whatever you chose to do… we can make sure you’re safe.”

You weren’t sure whether to believe it or not, looking away again, and Bucky took the opportunity to step in, “I take it, it went well then?”

You and Steve looked to him at the same time, a small smile lighting up the super soldier’s face, “The others will be back soon… not great but we got some out. It’s a start.”

You didn’t hear any of it, your eyes locking on Bucky as your heart rate picked up and flashes of things you couldn’t place took over your mind. You didn’t recognize the images but it didn’t matter, your rational brain was long gone and your instincts just told you one thing- Run.

In a blink, a surge of pale blue energy sent Bucky through the room’s window and into the hallway, knocking Steve out of his chair in the process. You weren’t even aware you’d done it as you bolted out the door as fast as you could, barely able to hear people mobilizing around you or feel the sting of some shards from the window cutting at your feet.

The familiar halls of your old research building seemed to materialize around you, lacking the usual peaceful glow of halogen lighting and smell of antiseptic. Instead, you could smell blood and smoke and the halls seemed dark and sinister as you navigated out and away as quickly as you could, easily dodging a few doctors that tried to stop you.

You can’t trust anyone, the whispers in your mind told you.

A door ahead of your started to lock down and you threw yourself into a slide, slipping under it and back to your feet with a few stumbling steps. It seemed like a maze. You didn’t remember your building being this big but chalked it up to the heat of the moment. You must have made a wrong turn. There was no time to get your bearings. No. Just had to get out. Out and away. Every heavy footfall behind you just spurred you to a faster speed until you ran smack into someone in a lab coat.

You blinked a few times trying to register it and your head tilted as Dr. List flickered before you, hands going to his shoulders, “List… List, we’re under attack. Where are the guards?”

It didn’t even take you a blink to register a needle in their hand, eyes going wide as you put two and two together. Trust no one. You pulled a move you’d learned in self-defense, twisting the arm and so the needle fell, and then bolted again.

You didn’t know how you’d managed it but you were very abruptly outside. The air was cold and it was greener than you remembered. Gravel bit into the skin of your feet and then the palms of your hand when you fell, losing your momentum slightly at the shift in surroundings. You needed to find a car… something.

You coughed harshly feeling like smoke was filling your lungs, panicked blood racing through your veins making every bit of your ache, but you have to keep going. The sense of urgency spurred you into action and you managed to stumble to your feet but before you could continue something cut through it all. A glimmer of red and a firm but clear voice calling your name.

You snapped toward the source and everything seemed to change right before your eyes… no fire. It was light out. Your lab nowhere in sight. You wobbled a little, brows furrowing as bits and pieces of Steve sitting with you started to filter through, “What…”

A wave of pain coursed through you, a hand coming to your injured side as you assessed it at the same time as your surroundings. With a cursory glance, you found a somewhat familiar redhead a few feet away, gun pointed at you, but that hardly registered, eyes locking on the twins behind her. Your back straightened, immediately noting blood on Pietro’s shirt and moving to him, “You’re hurt.”

He offered you his usual jovial grin, “Just a scrape, Doc.”

You tsked softly, “Nonsense. Let me see.”

“(F/n),” Wanda’s hand fell on your shoulder as she hummed softly, “You’re bleeding.”

You looked down at your hands, palms suddenly stinging from their meeting with the gravel with your feet and knees following suit as things started to catch up with you. You could hear Natasha behind you radioing in that she had you, a few other people you hadn’t noticed before nearby. You looked back at Pietro and then at Wanda, brow furrowing, “I don’t… What happened?”

Natasha stepped up cautiously and you instinctively put yourself between her and the twins, tucking Wanda behind you as you sized her up. She put her hands up, non-threatening, “You’re alright, Dr. (L/n). You had a flashback. We need to get you back inside.”

You tilted your head, processing that for a moment, “Right… I didn’t hurt anyone… did I?”

“No. Has this happened before?”

“Not that I remember,” you sighed, rubbing your temple with your wrist to avoid spreading blood, “I was recording any gaps in memory in a subprogram on my tablet… just to be sure Strucker wasn’t trying anything. I should be able to look back at the security footage but there was nothing glaringly obvious.”

“Strucker erased the databanks.”

A light chuckle escaped your lips, “I’m smarter than I look… Strucker gave me more freedom than he should have.”

Natasha’s brow furrowed slightly and you turned to Wanda, hand out for the tablet. She looked between you and Natasha, voice low in Sokovian, “Are you sure we can trust them?”

You shifted your hand to squeeze her shoulder, responding back in her native tongue, “You tell me, little robin, Can we?”

There was a moment of silence as she read what she could from them and then she nodded, producing the tablet from inside her clothing and placing it in your hand. You looked at it and then Natasha, “No offense intended it but I’m not handing this over to just anyone.”

She nodded once, knowing exactly what you were getting at, and you looked back to the twins, “Wanda would you please go with her inside… make sure Pietro sits still while they patch up his ‘scrape’?”

“Doc…” Pietro started to protest, eyes flicking between you and the others before switching to Sokovian, “Come with us.”

You chuckled, “I am fine, Pietro. Go on. I’ll be in to make sure you’re behaving in a moment.”

“No promises,” he grinned and you rolled your eyes, looking back to Natasha, “No caffeine for this one unless you want him on the ceiling.”

He laughed, letting Wanda lead him toward the building when Natasha nodded and motioned toward the door you must have come through. You waved, keeping an easy grin on your face until they disappeared inside, and then hissed and sank down to sit on the nearest surface, a crate of some sort of supplies. You glanced up to the little group you’d been left with- a slightly familiar man with a bow, a man with glasses, and very obviously Thor- and sighed, “Look, I know I haven’t exactly made the best first impression… but a first aid kit would be very much appreciated… and if you would call Mr. Stark… I’d appreciate that too.”

Clint nodded and called Tony on the com as Bruce grabbed a first aid kit from nearby, coming to your side, “Steve said took a bullet to your left side… ripped stitches?”

“Most likely… Not so bad that I am bleeding through the bandages though so that can wait. I’m more concerned with my feet… I doubt stitches will be needed but the glass and gravel have to go. Dirt flushed out. Probably a tetanus shot in the mix. For now… water, tweezers, and peroxide?”

Bruce opened his mouth to respond but the clank of Tony’s arrival broke his train of thought, “Or you could head back inside and let some of our top-notch doctors take care of it, Bluebell.”

You eyed him, sizing up the suit for a moment before responding, “You and I need to have a chat first, Mr. Stark. For your safety. Preferably face to face.”

The suit opened and he stepped out, eyes meeting yours, “You got it, Baby Blue. Talk.”


End file.
